The real meaning of the “Good without God” ad campaign

November 6, 2009

Over at
Psychology Today
blogs, Austin Dacey, formerly the United Nations representative for the CFI, has an interesting piece (co-authored with Michael De Dora, Jr.) that explores the universal message of the atheist advertising campaigns being launched in various markets throughout the U.S., in which the Center for Inquiry is taking part. He argues that ads are less about atheism and more about the nature of morality.

From the article:

No one can ignore the importance of Judeo-Christian values to the history of Western cultures, and no one can deny that faith is a source of virtue for many people. However, in the evolution of humanity, religion arose after the capacity for reason and empathy--the conscience. And in determining which values are best, we have no alternative but to rely on conscience.

This is the secular message [of the ads]: Ethics comes from below, not above. It is a message that reaches out to believers as well as atheists--and anyone else who might be riding the subway.

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D.J. Grothe is president of the James Randi Educational Foundation. He is also the former Vice President and Director of Outreach Programs for the Center for Inquiry and associate editor of Free Inquiry magazine. He hosted the weekly radio show and podcast Point of Inquiry, exploring the implications of the scientific outlook with leading thinkers.